This is the first official confirmation of the Gamescom presentation and tournament, where around 16 international teams from Asia, Europe, and North America will complete for the prizepool of over 1 MILLION dollars.
More details and information can be found in the original post at http://blog.dota2.com. Let's discuss this tournament and what it means for fans of Dota, the genre, and ESPORTS in general, rather than argue about the differences of the games in the genre.
+ Show Spoiler [Press Release] +
Announcing “The International”
August 1, 2011 - Dota Team
Dota 2 Championships: First Public Showing at Gamescom
Valve today announced The International. This tournament will be the first time Dota 2 is shown in public, and will take place August 17th -21st at Gamescom in Cologne, Germany.
The International features the 16 best Dota teams in the world competing in the Dota 2 Championships through a group stage, double elimination playoff format over the course of Cologne’s five-day trade show.
The tournament will be broadcast in four languages (Chinese, German, Russian, and English) free of charge. The winning team will receive $1 million.
“The International is the first public Dota 2 event and will give the tens of millions of gamers playing Dota around the world their first look at the new game,” said Gabe Newell, president and founder of Valve. “I have had the good fortune to watch the competitors as they prepare for the tournament, and the level of play is extraordinary.”
In addition to the cash prizes awarded by Valve, NVidia is providing all the hardware for the event.
Dota 2 will be available for the PC and Mac later this year.
Edit: Tournament page at http://www.dota2.com
Edit #2: + Show Spoiler [My Rankings of the Teams] +
1. CCM (China) - Catastrophic Cruel Memories
The current Kings of Chinese Dota, this relatively newer team has won FIVE tournaments in 2011 alone. Although occasional upsets occur, they consistently beat the other top Chinese teams currently and should be considered the favorites.
2. LGD (China) - LaoGanDie
Although they mostly trade games with the other Chinese powerhouses, their consistent performances for the past 2+ years earns them the #2 spot. They're almost always taking home a medal, if not the gold.
3. TyLoo (China) - TyLoo
Despite their only recent losses coming from CCM, Tyloo gets the #3 spot behind LGD because they're less experienced and haven't been able to seal the deal down the stretch at many tournaments.
4. Ok.Nirvana.cn (China) - Online Kingdom Nirvana China
A recent embarrassing loss to SkyNet in the Asia vs Vietnam showmatch should be enough motivation for these guys to get serious.
5. Ehome (China) - EHOME E-Sports Club
The undisputed #1 team worldwide 2 years ago, these guys have been struggling against the above teams a bit, but it's still hard to pick any non-Chinese team to be favored over these veterans.
6. StarsBoBa (Vietnam) - StarsBoBa
A tossup between Scythe and Starsboba for the top Non-Chinese spot, but I have to give it to StarsBoBa and their 4 years of lan experience.
7. Scythe.sg (Singapore) - Scythe Gaming
These guys have taken matches off LGD and Ok.Nirvana.Cn in the past. Very Impressive, but i haven't seen them play for a few months.
8. MYM (Denmark) - Meet Your Makers
The best European team, currently bootcamping in Denmark as we speak. We all want them to do well, but compared to the Chinese teams they're still underdogs. Still, I wouldn't be surprised if they take a game off some of the higher ranked teams.
9. Na'Vi (Ukraine) - Natus Vincere
So much potential in one team, with some of the scarest Lan players known to man with Dendi and LightOfHeaven. Still, their recent performance really hasn't reflected the amount of talent they have.
10. Mufc (Malaysia) - Mufc
Ex-Kingsurf, the best team in Malaysia.
11. [MI.Asus (Philippines) - Mineski Infinity.Asus
The best team of the Philippines, we'll finally get to see if their unique style stands up to international competition.
12. M5 (Russia) - Moscow5
So many achievements in such a short time for this Russian team, but without their ultimate weapon LightOfHeaven, I can't see competing as well as before.
13. GGnet (Europe) - Team GosuGamers
The "home team" for most of the English speaking Dota community, They've struggled quite a bit since the departure of Pajkatt and Puppey. Hopefully we'll see them back to full form soon.
14. Nevo (Denmark) - Next Evolution ESC
Forever the underdogs, these Danes have taken games off all the top European teams, but can't seem to get that huge win under their belt.
15. Ok.Nirvana.Int (Europe) - Online Kingdom Nirvana International
The only Primarily North American team (With Fear, 1437, and Universe attending). They've been totally on fire in online play recently, but IMO they're still huge underdogs in the Lan Environment where many of their members have no experience.
16. MiTH.Tr (Thailand) - MiTH.Trust
I believe the representative from Thailand will find themselves vastly outclassed in this tournament. Hopefully they prove me wrong
The current Kings of Chinese Dota, this relatively newer team has won FIVE tournaments in 2011 alone. Although occasional upsets occur, they consistently beat the other top Chinese teams currently and should be considered the favorites.
2. LGD (China) - LaoGanDie
Although they mostly trade games with the other Chinese powerhouses, their consistent performances for the past 2+ years earns them the #2 spot. They're almost always taking home a medal, if not the gold.
3. TyLoo (China) - TyLoo
Despite their only recent losses coming from CCM, Tyloo gets the #3 spot behind LGD because they're less experienced and haven't been able to seal the deal down the stretch at many tournaments.
4. Ok.Nirvana.cn (China) - Online Kingdom Nirvana China
A recent embarrassing loss to SkyNet in the Asia vs Vietnam showmatch should be enough motivation for these guys to get serious.
5. Ehome (China) - EHOME E-Sports Club
The undisputed #1 team worldwide 2 years ago, these guys have been struggling against the above teams a bit, but it's still hard to pick any non-Chinese team to be favored over these veterans.
6. StarsBoBa (Vietnam) - StarsBoBa
A tossup between Scythe and Starsboba for the top Non-Chinese spot, but I have to give it to StarsBoBa and their 4 years of lan experience.
7. Scythe.sg (Singapore) - Scythe Gaming
These guys have taken matches off LGD and Ok.Nirvana.Cn in the past. Very Impressive, but i haven't seen them play for a few months.
8. MYM (Denmark) - Meet Your Makers
The best European team, currently bootcamping in Denmark as we speak. We all want them to do well, but compared to the Chinese teams they're still underdogs. Still, I wouldn't be surprised if they take a game off some of the higher ranked teams.
9. Na'Vi (Ukraine) - Natus Vincere
So much potential in one team, with some of the scarest Lan players known to man with Dendi and LightOfHeaven. Still, their recent performance really hasn't reflected the amount of talent they have.
10. Mufc (Malaysia) - Mufc
Ex-Kingsurf, the best team in Malaysia.
11. [MI.Asus (Philippines) - Mineski Infinity.Asus
The best team of the Philippines, we'll finally get to see if their unique style stands up to international competition.
12. M5 (Russia) - Moscow5
So many achievements in such a short time for this Russian team, but without their ultimate weapon LightOfHeaven, I can't see competing as well as before.
13. GGnet (Europe) - Team GosuGamers
The "home team" for most of the English speaking Dota community, They've struggled quite a bit since the departure of Pajkatt and Puppey. Hopefully we'll see them back to full form soon.
14. Nevo (Denmark) - Next Evolution ESC
Forever the underdogs, these Danes have taken games off all the top European teams, but can't seem to get that huge win under their belt.
15. Ok.Nirvana.Int (Europe) - Online Kingdom Nirvana International
The only Primarily North American team (With Fear, 1437, and Universe attending). They've been totally on fire in online play recently, but IMO they're still huge underdogs in the Lan Environment where many of their members have no experience.
16. MiTH.Tr (Thailand) - MiTH.Trust
I believe the representative from Thailand will find themselves vastly outclassed in this tournament. Hopefully they prove me wrong
